The present invention relates to gambling games. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods for improved play of Chinese Pai Gow (tiles), Pai Gow Poker and Three Card Poker.
Pai Gow tiles and Pai Gow Poker are two well known gambling games that may be banked by a casino or a player. The player has to arrange their tiles or cards into a high hand and a low hand. The low hand must not be of a higher ranking than the high hand. The dealer or banker also arranges his tiles or cards into a high hand which will be compared to the player""s high hand, and a low hand which will be compared to the player""s low hand. In the event of a xe2x80x9ccopyxe2x80x9d where the low hands tie or the high hands tie (are of the same rank), the dealer wins the tie. The player must win both the high and low hands to win their bet. If one hand loses and the other hand wins, it is a push. The player is charged a five percent commission on their winning hand.
Pai Gow Poker is a game which is played with a single deck of cards with or without the use of a joker. A game of Pai Gow Poker begins with the players making a wager. A dealer shuffles the deck of cards. Three dice are rolled to determine the distribution of the hands. A hand of seven cards is dealt to each player and the dealer. Each player organizes his or her seven cards into a two-card low hand and a five-card high hand. The low hand must not have a higher ranking than the high hand according to the conventional ranking of poker. If the hands are incorrectly arranged, the player automatically loses. The player positions his cards on the playing surface with the two-card low hand in front of the five-card high hand.
The dealer reveals his cards and likewise organizes the seven cards into a five-card high hand and a two-card low hand. Wagers are resolved by comparing the rank of the player""s high hand and low hand to the dealer""s high hand and low hand, respectively. If the players high and low hands outrank the dealer""s high and low hands, respectively, the player wins and is paid even money, less a five percent commission to the casino. If the dealer""s high and low hands outrank or tie the player""s high and low hands, respectively, the dealer collects the player""s wager. If one, but not both, of the player""s hands outrank the one of the dealer""s hands, the game is a push and the wager is neither collected nor paid.
The game of Pai Gow tiles is played with a set of thirty-two Chinese Pai Gow tiles. It begins with the players making a wager. A dealer shuffles the set of tiles and arranges them into eight stacks of four tiles each. Three dice are rolled to determine the distribution of the hands. A hand of four tiles is dealt to each player and the dealer. Each player organizes his or her four tiles into a two-tile low hand and a two-tile high hand. The low hand must not have a higher ranking than the high hand according to the conventional ranking of Pai Gow. If the hands are incorrectly arranged, the player automatically loses. The player positions his tiles on the playing surface with the two-tile low hand in front of the two-tile high hand.
The dealer reveals his tiles and likewise organizes the four tiles into a two-tile high hand and a two-tile low hand. Wagers are resolved by comparing the rank of the player""s high hand and low hand to the dealer""s high hand and low hand, respectively. If the player""s high and low hands outrank the dealer""s high and low hands, respectively, the player wins and is paid even money, less a five percent commission to the casino. If the dealer""s high and low hands outrank or tie the player""s high and low hands, respectively, the dealer collects the player""s wager. If one, but not both, of the player""s hands outrank the one of the dealer""s hands, the game is a push.
Three Card Poker, as disclosed in Webb, U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,774, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, is a three-card poker game played with a single deck of cards. The player makes an ante bet before the hand is dealt. The player and dealer each will get three cards face down. After looking at the cards, the player has the option to fold and forfeit the ante bet or to stay in the game by putting up a Play bet equal to the ante. After all players have made their decision, the dealer turns his hand over and checks to see if his hand is Queen-high or better. If not, the dealer does not qualify to play against all player hands so all players are paid even money on the ante and the Play bet is a push. If the dealer does qualify, then the dealer hand is compared with the player hand and whoever has the higher 3-card poker ranking wins the hand. If the player hand is a straight or better, the ante bet is paid odds automatically regardless of the dealer hand. In the event of a tie, the ante and the Play bet push. In addition to the ante bet, the player also can make an optional Pair Plus bet which is played against a predetermined pay table. If the player""s own hand is one pair or better, the Pair Plus bet is paid odds according to the predetermined pay table.
My U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,472, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes an improved game of Pai Gow tiles in which a player can make an optional bonus wager. If the player is dealt one of several predetermined hands such as Wong, Gong and pairs, the player is paid odds according to a pay table.
Franklin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,486 describes an improved game of Pai Gow Poker in which a player is permitted to make a jackpot wager along with the mandatory Pai Gow Poker wager, with the player winning the jackpot wager when he is dealt a predetermined seven card jackpot holding such as a pair low hand and straight or better high hand. The odds increase in view of the rarity of the seven card hands, up to, for example, 50,000:1 for five aces and a pair.
Another known modification of the Pai Gow Poker game is called Fortune Pai Gow Poker, where the player has the option to make a bonus bet. This bonus bet is won at predetermined odds if the player has any five cards which can form a straight or better (with the odds increasing for increasingly ranked hands). In addition, if a player makes a bonus bet of at least $5, that player can additionally win a predetermined xe2x80x9cenvy bonusxe2x80x9d if any other player has any five cards which form a poker rank of four of a kind or higher.
Evers, et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,424 describes a modified game of Pai Gow Poker which reduces the number of pushes and pays odds if the player hand has a predetermined poker ranking. For a winning outcome, the player""s high and low hands must outrank the corresponding dealer high and low hands. A push is declared if the player""s high hand (i) outranks the corresponding dealer""s high hand and (ii) has at least a pair of Jacks, and the dealer""s low hand outranks the player""s low hand. All other outcomes are declared losing outcomes for the player. As a further feature, should the outcome be (i) a player win and (ii) the player""s high hand be of a predetermined qualifying holding, the player is paid a higher amount according to a predetermined payout schedule.
While such games are entertaining and useful in the gaming industry to increase interest and betting, games with still more betting options are desirable. For example, all traditional casino games allow the player to bet that they will be dealt a premium hand and be paid higher odds the better their hand is. None of the games offer a bet on the dealer hand being a bad hand. While players love to be dealt a good hand, they also love to see the dealer get a poor hand so they can beat the dealer easily. Therefore, a game can be more fun if the player can bet that the dealer will be dealt a bad hand and get paid for that. The worse the dealer hand is, the more the player is paid. In such cases the player will typically win their wager as well as a dealer xe2x80x9cbad handxe2x80x9d wager. Thus the player will perceive the outcome as a double win for the player. Furthermore, since the award is based upon the dealer""s hand, all player(s) are wagering on the same event and therefore win together. This promotes a comradery among the players.
Furthermore, typical poker games include other features that discourage play or decrease players"" incentive to play. These games prohibit players from winning all of the bets if the dealer""s hand is disqualified. For example, Three Card Poker, Three Card Stud and Caribbean Stud Poker require that the dealer""s hand be qualified with a Queen, Queen-Eight or Ace-King, respectively. Failure of the dealer to qualify with such hands results in all of the players having no opportunity to win their back/additional bet and a big bonus payoff (e.g., the bonus payoff in Caribbean Stud Poker) with the cards the players were dealt. Thus, a player making a large bet based on a good hand could have the possibility of winning removed solely on the basis of the dealer""s hand, and completely outside the player""s expectation of winning given the hand the player has been dealt.
There is a need for offering a bonus for the games of Pai Gow Poker and Pai Gow tiles which provides the player with an additional opportunity to receive an award and pay the commission less often.
There is also a need for the games of Pai Gow Poker, Pai Gow tiles and Three Card Poker which provide for an additional wager by the player to participate in the bonus feature. In this regard such a feature would provide the casino with an additional revenue source.
There is also a need for the games of Pai Gow Poker and Pai Gow tiles which offer a bonus of greater than even money to entice the players to participate in the bonus feature.
Alternatively, there is a need for a method and device which provide for an additional award feature without the necessity of the player making the bonus wager.
There is therefore set forth according to the present invention a method for playing an improved game of one of Pai Gow tiles, Pai Gow Poker and Three Card Poker, which may be embodied in either a table game format or in an electronic device.
In one embodiment, the method for playing the improved game of Pai Gow Poker includes the player prior to the dealing of the cards opting to make a proposition (side) wager in addition to making a base wager. After the wagering option has been exercised, the dealer deals seven cards to each player and himself in the traditional Pai Gow Poker fashion. Each player and the dealer arrange their cards into the two-card low hand and the five-card high hand, the high hand having a higher ranking than the low hand according to the rules of ranking of Pai Gow Poker hands, also in the traditional fashion. If the player has made the base wager and both his high and low hands outrank the dealer""s corresponding high and low hands, the player is declared to have obtained a winning outcome and the player is rewarded based upon his base wager. As in traditional Pai Gow Poker the reward on the base wager is usually a payoff of even money with the casino collecting a five percent commission on winning hands. If one, but not both, of the player""s high and low hands outranks a corresponding one of the dealer""s high and low hands, the outcome is declared a push and the player neither loses nor wins their wager. All other outcomes are deemed a loss and the player loses their base wager.
According to one embodiment of the invention an improved game of Pai Gow Poker is set forth where, if one of or the holding of both of the dealer""s low and high hands matches one of predetermined Poker hand combinations, players making the proposition wager are declared to have obtained a winning outcome and are rewarded based upon the amount of their proposition wager. The winning hand combinations may be any predetermined combinations of a preselected one or both of the dealer""s hands; but preferably are combinations of poor, low ranking, hands that are easily beatable. The payoffs for winning proposition wagers may range from even money to, for example, 200:1. Moreover, to make the reward more enticing, if the dealer""s hand(s) matches one of predetermined Poker hand combinations and a preselected one or both of the holdings of the player""s low and high hands matches a predetermined Poker hand combination, players making the proposition wager are paid much higher odds such as 1000:1.
According to another embodiment of the improved game of Pai Gow Poker, a player having made a Pai Gow Poker base wager is paid at more than even money on his base wager if the dealer receives a predetermined hand combination and the player beats the dealer. For example, if the dealer hand is Jack-high or lower, the player is paid 3:2 if the player beats the dealer.
According to yet another embodiment of the improved game of Pai Gow Poker, a player having made a Pai Gow Poker base wager need not pay the commission if the dealer receives a predetermined hand combination and the player""s hand outrank and beat the dealers. For example, if the dealer hand is King-high or lower, the player need not pay the commission if the player beats the dealer.
According to yet another embodiment of the improved game of Pai Gow Poker, a player having made a Pai Gow Poker base wager need not pay the commission if the player receives one of predetermined hand combination and the player""s hands beat the dealer. For example, if the player high hand is flush or better, the player need not pay the commission if the player beats the dealer.
The invention as embodied in an improved game of Pai Gow tiles includes the player prior to the dealing of the tiles opting to make a proposition wager in addition to making a base wager. After the wagering option has been exercised, the dealer deals four tiles to each player and himself in the traditional Pai Gow fashion. Each player and the dealer arrange their tiles into the two-tile low hand and the two-tile high hand, the high hand having a higher ranking than the low hand according to the rules of ranking of Pai Gow tiles, also in the traditional fashion. If the player has made the base wager and both his high and low hands outrank the dealer""s corresponding high and low hands, the player is declared to have obtained a winning outcome and the player is rewarded based upon his base wager. As in traditional Pai Gow tiles the reward on the base wager is usually a payoff of even money with the casino collecting a five percent commission on winning hands. If one, but not both, of the player""s high and low hands outranks a corresponding one of the dealer""s high and low hands, the outcome is declared a push and the player neither loses nor wins their wager. All other outcomes are deemed a loss and the player loses their base wager.
According to one embodiment of the improved game of Pai Gow tiles, if a preselected one or both of the low and high hand(s) match one of predetermined hand combinations, players making the proposition wager are declared to have obtained a winning outcome and are rewarded based upon the amount of their proposition wager. The winning hand combinations may be any predetermined combinations of the dealer""s tiles but preferably are combinations of poor, low ranking hands that are easily beatable. The payoffs for winning proposition wagers may range from even money to, for example, 25:1. Moreover, to make the reward more enticing, if the preselected dealer hand(s) matches a predetermined bonus hand combinations and a preselected one or both of the player hand(s) matches a predetermined bonus hand combination, players making the proposition wager are paid much higher odds such as 500:1.
According to yet another embodiment of the improved game of Pai Gow tiles, a player having made a Pai Gow tiles base wager is paid more than even money if the dealer receives one of predetermined hand combinations and the player beats the dealer. For example, if the dealer high hand is selected and it is a two or lower, the player is paid 3 to 2 if the player beats the dealer.
According to yet another embodiment of the improved game of Pai Gow tiles, a player having made a Pai Gow tiles base wager need not pay the commission if the dealer receives one of predetermined hand combinations and the player beats the dealer. For example, if the dealer high hand is four or lower, the player need not pay the commission if the player beats the dealer.
According to yet another embodiment of the improved game of Pai Gow tiles, a player having made a Pai Gow tiles base wager is paid more than even money if the player receives one of predetermined hand combinations and the player beats the dealer. For example, if the player low hand is Wong or better, the player is paid 3 to 2 if the player beats the dealer.
According to yet another embodiment of the improved game of Pai Gow tiles, a player having made a Pai Gow tiles base wager need not pay the commission if the player receives one of predetermined hand combinations and the player beats the dealer. For example, if the player low hand is high 9 or better, the player need not pay the commission if the player beats the dealer.
The embodiment of the present invention incorporated into the method for playing Three Card Poker includes the player prior to the dealing of the cards opting to make a proposition wager in addition to making the ante wager and the optional Pair Plus wager. After the wagering options have been exercised, the dealer deals three cards, face down, to each player and himself. After looking at his cards, each player decides whether to fold and forfeit the ante or stay in the game by making a Play wager equal to the ante. If the player has made the ante and Play wager, his wagers will be resolved according to the aforementioned rules of Three Card Poker. If the dealer hand matches one of predetermined bonus hand combinations, players making the proposition wager are declared to have obtained a winning outcome and are rewarded based upon the amount of their proposition wager. The winning hand combinations may be any predetermined combinations of the dealer""s three cards but preferably are combinations of poor, low ranking, hands that are easily beatable. The method may require the player hand defeat the dealer hand or, if the dealer has a bonus hand, the player may be rewarded regardless of whether or not his hand defeats the dealer""s. The payoffs for winning proposition wagers may range from even money to, say, 30:1. Moreover, to make the reward more enticing, if the dealer hand matches one of predetermined hand combinations and the player hand matches a predetermined hand combination, players making the proposition wager are paid much higher odds such as 500:1.
As can be appreciated, the games provide for players to obtain high rewards during the play of the improved games of Pai Gow Poker, Pai Gow tiles and Three Card Poker. Rather than simply win even money (less a commission) for the base wager, players can participate in the proposition wager and reap greater rewards. Furthermore, if the dealer receives one of the predetermined hand combinations, a player having made a proposition wager is rewarded regardless of whether or not his base wager is won or lost. Furthermore, the player need not pay the commission if they or the dealer receive the predetermined hand combination, which will speed up the game and enhance the appeal of the game. Players certainly will play the game at the casinos where the commission is charged less often.